This is wet and wild Kanangra style! Setting foot onto the rocky wonderland at Morong Falls is guaranteed to wow you. With waterfall pools hemmed in by giant boulders, rushing cascades and jaw-dropping views; it’s probably one of the most incredible places to swim in all the Blue Mountains. The boulders and pools create such a fun landscape that it’s impossible not to feel those blissful summer holiday vibes. I fell in love with it and our visit here only left me wanting more - but that will have to wait for better conditions because you don’t want to venture further down the gorge after heavy rainfall.
Whilst there are some epic adventures to be had beyond what we’re sharing in this post, they require off track experience and great conditions, hopefully we can explore further next time.
For now, here’s what to expect from visiting Morong Falls.
The Morong Falls Track
The stats
Distance: 8.9km return
Elevation gain: 245m
Difficulty: Easy - moderate
The walk to the falls is easy. It’s almost entirely on wide fire trails and though it does have many little humps, there are no sustained climbs.
There is one mandatory creek crossing, which is easy in all but flooded conditions when it must be avoided entirely. The final few hundred metres to the falls are off track and a little rough, but not difficult.
Starting the trail: crossing the creek
Depending on recent rainfall the very first steps along this track may well be your least favourite of the whole walk as you’ll have to cross the creek.
Even after heavy rain the crossing is easy in terms of the flow of the water because it’s not very fast, but it does get deep - the middle section was well above knee height for me.
In drier times it will be much lower but you’ll always get wet boots because there are no rocks to use as stepping stones.
It’s also a fairly long crossing and a bit rocky underfoot so I don’t recommend going barefoot.
What I can tell you though, is that even those that don’t enjoy this kind of thing will find it oh so worth it when you get your first glimpse of the falls!
The only time this crossing would not be possible is during times of flood. It goes without saying not to cross if the water is brown and swollen.
If that’s the case it’s best to save it for another time and head to check out some of the trails at Kanangra Walls, which are also fabulous.
Along the fire trails
Once you’re across the creek the walk takes you along fire trails right up until the last few hundred metres.
You’ll head briefly uphill before the track flattens and after 450m you’ll reach a junction and follow the signposted track on the right towards the falls.
This is the offical start of the walk, so technically you could drive to this point but the creek crossing would be iffy for all but experienced 4WD drivers.
The path heads gently downhill and then undulates through the forest until you reach a locked gate at the 1.7km mark. It’s just a fire trail so it’s not going to win any awards for beauty, but the bushland is pleasant and the walking easy.
After passing through the locked gate the track continues to undulate but has more downhill than up. You only really notice that on the way back though!
After a further 2.4km (4.1km from where you parked) you’ll reach the end of the fire trail and what feels like a dead end.
The bush track down to the falls
Although you’ll be able to hear the falls (unless you’re visiting during a really dry spell) you might not immediately spot the path. Look for the small cairn on the right close to the end of the trail.
Follow it and you’ll quickly come to a more defined track which descends to the falls. It’s rough in places with rocks and some loose soil, but it’s not hard and you are only 350m from the base of the falls (and less to the rocks and cascades).
You’ll quickly arrive at some huge boulders and can carefully make your way right, to the pool at the base of Morong Falls.
When we visited there was a fair amount of debris but it was easy to climb through if you take it slowly. The rock is really grippy when dry and there are no steep drops.
Swimming at Morong Falls
Morong Falls are stunning. We couldn’t believe the force of the water bursting through the gap in the rock.
If you aren’t planning to swim then the best time to visit is definitely after heavy rain when the power was just phenomenal.
If you are planning to swim, you will want a little less flow as the current created after heavy rainfall could easily sweep you down towards the drop off if you get too close. The sweet spot is to visit after rain, but not the La Nina style rain we had!
Even though I was only comfortable swimming on the side furthest from the falls it was still incredible. I can only imagine how amazing it would be to have the full run of the large pool.
Accessing the water is easy as there are tiered rocks taking you down into the pool and then it gets deep very quickly. Despite the rain the water was still really clear (which you can’t tell from the photos) so swimming is a delight.
It’s very cold water but on a warm day it gets a lot of sun, so it’s refreshing rather than an ice bath.
If you aren’t looking to swim there are plenty of large even rocks to lie out on beside the pool which makes for the perfect way to while away an afternoon.
One thing to note is that there is no shade here though, which is literally the only negative I have to say about this spot!
Exploring a little further
Downstream of the main falls and pool are several smaller cascades, each with their own tiny plunge pools.
They are backed by giant boulders and it’s these bits in particular that really felt like some kind of amazing water park. Again during times of high flow they are turbulent, but otherwise would be perfect for relaxing in.
They are very easy to reach and just a few minutes downstream of the main pool. The views out to Morong Deep are out of this world.
The mountains, the boulders and the giant waterfalls that continue down the gorge are so dramatic and the whole place is just magical.
You can continue further down the gorge to more falls and pools but it gets harder and you do need good conditions. I could see a couple more pools very close by, but they were full of white water on our visit.
Exploring beyond Morong Falls is definitely more of an endeavour and the area is very remote.
You’d want experience and great conditions (I know I sound like a broken record on that but it’s very important).
There is no phone signal anywhere along the track or much of the road to the trailhead, so a PLB is recommended if you’re coming alone or you want to do more than the easy walk described above.
Heading back
Allow plenty of time at the falls and smaller pools because this is a spot that’s really hard to leave! I knew I wanted to return before I’d even left, it’s just one of those places.
In terms of the walk, there is more uphill than downhill on the way back but it’s still pretty easy. Your boots will probably have just dried nicely before you need to drench them in the creek crossing again, but I guarantee you won’t regret it!
Bush Safety
There is no phone signal in Kanangra, so we recommend bringing a PLB in case of an emergency. We carry a GME and you can check this one out and many more on Amazon.
Getting to the Morong Falls trailhead
Morong Falls is located in Kanangra-Boyd National Park. There is a significant amount of driving on unsealed roads to get there. When we visited these were all perfectly doable in a 2WD as long as you take it slowly. The roads are flat so it’s really just about carefully going around potholes etc.
Having said that everyone has different tolerance levels for these kind of roads so if you don’t enjoy them, this might not be for you as it is a long way on unsealed roads.
You’ll need to start driving down the road that leads to Kanangra Walls and then turn onto the Kowmung River Fire Trail 15km down the road on your right. From here it’s roughly 6km before you head left and then a couple more kilometres before you reach the parking area just before the creek crossing.
Once you hit the Kowmung River Fire Trail the road narrows but remains in good condition (at time of writing). The coordinates for the parking area is -33.9779051, 150.0146490.
There is another way of accessing this spot which is on the other side of the creek to the one we’re talking about but we didn’t use that road and can’t comment on the state of it.
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